Time changes People
by Roman-son-of-Truth
Summary: The final war is approaching, but how will it all end when the gang splits up, the Fire Nation thinks Mai's dead, and the destined future Fire Lord is working in a tea shop in Ba Sing sae? zXm, aXk, sXt. An epic battle of history. Chapter 6!
1. Home sick

"The monks always taught me that time was just an illusion, so…maybe I'm not in such a bad position." Aang said as he helped unload Appa's saddle.

"But how? I mean, no matter what the Monks told you, the commit is still going to come and nothing's going to stop it." Sokka said, attempting to set up a fire.

"That's why we're here, isn't it Aang? Because this is a spiritual place." Katara asked, setting up sleeping bags.

"Actually, I just like the mountains." Aang replied, smiling sheepishly. A harsh laugh was heard on the cliff where Appa was at the mouth of the cave.

"What are you laughing at?" Sokka said looking over at the blind girl.

"Aang? Spiritual? Apart from the whole avatar thing, he's about as spiritual as the poof in my hair!" Toph pointed at the white ball of fluff by her ear. Katara glared at the small girl. She had a lot of nerve insulting Aang like that.

"And I'm sure your just so well connected with the planet that you just radiate with spirituality."

"Actually, I rely on the planet all the time. It's my way of sight. I can't say I'm so spiritual, but I can definitely say I rely on the earth and it's movement a lot more than any of you." Toph pointed at the three of them. Katara scowled at the girl, but knew she had been defeated so she held her tongue.

"Can you guys stop bickering for once? Just try to get along for the time being. We really need to focus. The spring solstice is practically on our doorstep and we still haven't found Aang a fire bending teacher. Aang, as little as you think about time I -"

"Shh!" Both girls cut Sokka off and pointed at Aang. His eyes and tattoos were illuminated with pale blue light. He wasn't in his Avatar state, but connecting to the spirit world. He had found out more about the spirit world as the time passed. The other three worked quietly on getting themselves set up. A stunning blue bird swooped down on them with a scroll held tightly in a pouch on it's back.

"He's beautiful!" Katara said in whispered excitement. Sokka took the scroll from the beautifully plumaged bird and read it by the light of the setting sun. After a moment his eyes grew wide and a small smile crept up the sides of his face.

"What is it? Katara asked walking up to him.

"Dad's fleet is going home. I have to be there!" Sokka shouted in unconcealed excitement.

"Whoop Dee do!" Toph said in mock excitement. "who cares. It's like you said. We need to focus. So if I'm not allowed to fight with Sugar Queen here, than you can't go home. Hands down." Katara stared in complete disbelief at her and Sokka just stood there.

"Wow. NOW you go quiet. I should tell you no more often, Ponytail."

"Fine." Sokka said quietly, rolling up the scroll and dropping it.

"What!" Katara said in disbelief turning to her older brother. His face was hard to read because he was trying to hide the fact that he cared. But Katara could see his pain. "Your just giving up?" Katara was on the verge of tears now. She had to get along with Toph but this was to much. Call her names, insult her, and prank her till the world ends. But when you get to her brother's defensive heart, that's where the line is drawn.

"Katara, she's right. Remember what Grangran said, Our destinies are intertwined with Aang's now. We can't go back to our old lives. No matter how much we want too."

"That's right." Toph said, crossing her arms. "You don't see me running back to the Beifong estate because I miss the luxuries of high finance living."

"Toph, you don't understand." Katara said as Sokka walked away. "Sokka and I lost our mother when he was six. At the same time our father and all the warriors of our tribe left to fight with the Earth Kingdom. After all this time, it would mean a lot to him to see our dad again."

"I know it would." Aang interrupted their conversation. "That's why we're going to the south pole. Though he tried to hide it, Sokka's face lit up. Katara embraced Aang tightly thanking him, whiled Sokka started packing. Toph on the other hand, crossed her arms and blew strands of her hair away from her face.

"All ice. This should be promising." She said sarcastically to Momo.

**A.N: I really hope you liked this. The story isn't just going to focus on the gang. Each chapter will be at a different character's POV. Sokka, Aang and Katara, Toph, Zuko, Azula and Ty Lee, and Mai. Fair warning now. If you don't like any one of these pairings I suggest you stop reading. Pairings: Z x M A x K S x T. Hopefully you will keep reading. Thanks.**

**The Happy Phantom.**


	2. Adieu

Azula stuck the pin in her hair and pushed away the man with the mirror.

"You're in a good mood today." Ty Lee said sarcastically as she walked out of her quarters.

"Ah Ty Lee, you awake. Good. But where's Mai? She isn't really one to sleep in."

"Um…I…don't …Know. Maybe she's sick."

"Well, we should go check up on her then, shouldn't we?"

"Um…alright." Azula rose from her throne and Ty Lee followed looking nervous. She hoped she wasn't getting Mai into any trouble. The two girls stopped at the end of the hall. Footsteps were coming from the hall to their left.

"I hate the water. Why is it always the water? Why can't that weird flying buffalo thing stay on land?"

"Ah Mai. You're awake." Mai stopped, and in one fluid motion, had throwing knives between each finger.

"Swift as ever, and ever vigilant." Azula continued, stepping out from behind the wall, with Ty Lee at her heels.

"Morning!" Ty Lee said brightly, waving ecstatically to the not so enthusiastic young woman.

"Hi…Ty Lee. " She responded, a little less than half-heartedly.

"Ty, Here, said that you late rise might have been due to sickness. What would you say?" Azula said boring into Mai's dark eyes.

"She's right." Azula looked at her, astonished. Then she laughed.

"Very funny, A clever joke. But really, why were you up so late?"

"I told you that I was sick. It's not my fault, sailing just doesn't suit me well." Mai went to walk away when a flash of blue lightning shot barely an inch away from her face. She turned on her heels to face Azula again.

"You're not in a good mood are you? Well, like I've told Ty Lee, you can shoot all the blue lightning you want at me. I don't care. I'm not your slave, your lackey, or your weapon. I'm probably not even your friend. You don't have friends, Azula, you have cowards."

"Mai, I wouldn't do this today." Ty lee warned, But too late. Azula's balled fists were saturated in blue flame, and she stood at a fighting stance. Mai took no notice. She'd been a close friend to Azula practically all her life. Like Azula would really hurt her. Mai put away her throwing knives and turned again to walk away. This time blue engulfed her vision before everything went totally black and she hit the floor.

"She didn't even scream." Ty Lee said in a panic. "Will she be alright?"

"Who knows Ty Lee. She may even be dead." Azula sounded just like her old self. She just may have killed one of her best friends, and she was completely fine with that.

"Get her off my ship. She's no friend of mine." She told to one of the crewmembers that walked by.

"Actually," Azula said as the man went to pick Mai up. "Wait till we get to the docks. We can throw her in the water." Ty Lee's eyes grew wide with fear, though she pretended to go along. The same way she did when Zuko was banished. She just played along. She was Azula's best friend, and she was good at it. But Mai's words still rang in her head as she watched her get dropped over the side of the war ship.

**A/N: yeah. Not the best chapter but I still had to get the point to you all. There is a reason for this chapter. I hope you all got this but incase you didn't, Mai might be dead now. Ty Lee is questioning her judgement of Azula, Azula and Mai are pretty much enemies now. It will all come into play later I promise. As for now, REVIEW! You know you want to. No flames but I appreciate critiquing. Anytime! **


	3. Walls

Toph shivered as the icy winds slashed at her bare skin. She didn't hear anyone else getting cold. She was practically expecting Sokka to start complaining hours ago. But none of them had.

"Why is it so cold up here?" She queried to the group between her chattering teeth.

"Look! There it is!" Katara cried as they all looked over Toph's question. Toph sighed.

_Your small, weak, blind, and above that, cold. Why are you even going on with life? Is there really any point?_ A voice in her head asked. Yes. There was a point, it was…well…the truth was that there was no real point. She kept telling herself there was and putting out false reasons. She hid behind the wall she had built around her. Cut herself off from everyone who cared. She didn't want to appear with any weaknesses. But they were there. No matter what she did, they were always there. She felt Appa descend and the winds got stronger, lashing her face to the point of tears. Then, all of a sudden, it all stopped. She could hear the water reverberate off the ice. Huge almost metallic waves of sound. She'd never admit it, but they were the first thing to strike fear in her since she got to the south Pole.

"Aang!" He heard a bunch of children cry. She could hear their footsteps on the ice, and shivered. She held her knees up to her chest and remained on Appa while the others slid off onto the icy land. It wasn't land though, more like solid water.

" C'mon Toph!" She heard Sokka say.

"No." She replied quietly.

"Your not just going to sit on Appa all day are you?"

"Yes."

"But-"

"NO!" She yelled, momentarily breaking her position, feeling the intense cold penetrate every muscle, every bone, every drop of blood practically froze within her. It was to much. She screamed and curled back up.

"Toph!"

"NO! I said No!" She cried back just barely after her name left his lips.

"Fine." She heard him say softly. Then she heard his feet softly make contact with the ice below them. It wasn't just below her though. The sounds of the water's tall vibrations told her that not only was it under her, but it was all around her. Like walls. Like her childhood. There were always walls around her. As long as she was rendered blind, there were walls. And she was always alone.

**I know I know it's a vary short chapter, but I'm giving you two chapters at once to complete this thought. Not a lot is going to happen from Toph's POV if she's sitting on Appa's back and feeling weak, questioning her self. She will be doing that in the story on her quiet moments. But the next chapter will really be the end of this chapter from Sokka's POV since, well face it, he can see. Plus it's going to have him thinking of how his life will change now that he's wanting to stay home. To protect the people he loves blah blah blah. It'll all be in there. Enjoy.**


	4. Battles and War

Sokka walked away. He didn't really get what had made Toph so short tempered. Sure it's not part of the earth Kingdom, but that wasn't his fault. He watched the children run up to Aang and Katara cheering and gaping. They must be water bending for them. After seeing there sister tribe, the southern water tribe looked weak and defenseless. If the fire nation were to attack this place as they did the North, they would be killed in a landslide. As he watched Aang do some advanced air bending and wondered. Maybe that's what happened to the Air Nomads. They lived in another world apart from this one. Or was it a genocide? Either way, they were gone. Aang was just a boy, but he took it a lot better than most would have. It's strange how people only feel right when they're at home. Just the word home inflicts a since of comfort in a person. Maybe that's why Toph is acting so weird. Born and raised in a high class family, treated like the princess of the Earth Kingdom, then all of a sudden, living with three other people, running, fighting, and thriving in a whole new manner. As much as she said it was weird and she hatted it, he could tell she was more relaxed in Ba sing Sae. He walked up to Aang and Katara.

"So how long do you guys plan on staying?" He asked.

"What do you mean 'you guys'?" Katara asked letting the stream of water freeze and fall to the ground.

"I'm staying here." He replied.

"Why?" Katara asked, her eyes brimming with tears.

"This is my home Katara, these are my people, I need to be there for them. It's my job."

"But you fight with us."

"Look, Katara, you're a water bender. It's your place to travel with Aang, save lives, fight fire benders. Aang's place is defeating the fire lord, ending this war, and saving all of our lives, as well as the lives of our future. Toph's place is" He paused for a moment. What was Toph's destiny really? "Toph's place is to succeed in defeating anyone who gets in her way, and helping you all to win the war. She can't do that until she destroys the wall she's built around herself. All three of you need to work together to help win this war. But I need to stay here. Protect these people. Be there for these people. After Aang learns fire bending, and you are preparing to fight, come get me. But for now, I'm staying here." Tears ran down Katara's face as she hugged Sokka.

"Where's Toph?" Aang asked, clearly having not heard their conversation.

"She's still with Appa. "

"Why?"

"I have no idea. I thought you might know." Aang looked over at Appa, seeing the small figure up in his saddle. He smacked himself in the head.

"Duh! It's all ice here. It's freezing and she can't see. Hey, I'd be scared too." Aang shot a gust of air right at her, knocking her backward off Appa. Her scream rent the air in a split second, as well as the glacier powering just over her head. The metallic water sounds echoed, hitting the ice and each other, inflicting panic in everyone in the tribe. Toph scrambled to her feet and just stood there. She had no way of seeing where she was going. People were screaming, those weird arctic sounds were getting louder and,

CRACK! The glacier split clan through. Toph tried to keep her cool. Those constant walls were coming down and there was no way to stop them. She could feel the ice under her quake, she prepared herself for the freezing ice mound to crush her. But it never came. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"I'm dead. I'm dead. I died. I'm dead" She continued repeating to herself, her eyes shut tightly.

"You have some serious thrill issues." Cam a strange voice. She heard footsteps approach.

"Shen!" Came Katara's voice in excitement.

"You alright Toph?" Sokka asked laying a hand on her shoulder.

"Fine." She said gruffly, pushing his hand of her shoulder.

"Where are the other's?" Katara asked.

"There on their way." The young man replied. "We shouldn't have come back, but our captain commanded. And so we did."

"Why?" Toph asked.

"Well, a small city is being attacked by the Fire Nation, but we would have been no help. Master Yu and his students will be more effect than us. Toph's eyes widened.

"Aang! I have to go home. I could probably make a difference. If those people die It will be all my fault!" Toph was speaking so fast no one really understood what she was saying.

"Whoa Toph slow down." Sokka said. "Speak slowly."

"Master Yu was my Sinfu. That's my city that the Fire Nation is attacking. I have to help."

"Sokka, we have to go." Aang started getting Appa ready. Then looked back at Sokka and Katara. "Um. Did I miss something?"

"I'm staying here, Aang." Sokka answered. "Come get me when your ready to fight the Fire Lord." They said a silent good-bye, clamored back on Appa, and took off. Drifting away, Katara watched her brother. Praying that she would see him again.

Yeah. I thought I would leave you on a cliff hanger, but I decided not to. Maybe I will later. Tehehe. Enjoy!


	5. Waves and Vibrations

Mai groaned from the pain that was infecting her. She clenched her fists together and suppressed the urge to just do it now. Take this pitiful life and be done with it. A large wooden beam took the offer first though. She screamed as the beam took the blow. She opened her eyes to see what had hit her. She was laying on the surface of the merciless ocean. She glared at the docks as she attempted to regain her footing.

"Stupid docks." She grumbled to herself. " And would you shut up?" She yelled at the croaking creatures scrutinizing the new comer to their domain. She waded out of the water and fell to the sand laughing gently to herself.

" It'll take more than some blue fire to kill a person Azula. Fortunately your easily fooled with petty acting." She whispered "You did do one thing to your advantage though. Anyone in this place would kill me on spot. Lucky guess though." Mai pulled the ties out of her hair letting it all fall in a tangled mess. She took one of the throwing knives out of her sleeve and cut all the hair below her chin off. It was a lengthy process, the knives were sharp enough to pierce clean through a person, but she had quite a bit of hair and it was very difficult to cut her own hair. She struggled to her feet and removed her sopping robe. Left only in a burgundy colored oriental shirt and baggy gray pants. She took off her stilettos and the straps all up her arms that were holding throwing knives and set them all behind a pillar of the dock. Looking around her she pocketed several of the throwing knives. Some defense. She studied her appearance in the reflection of one of the blades. Same pale face, same narrow features same falcon eyes. The very same appearance she cared so little about. But she looked almost opposite of her old self. Not even Azula could figure it was she. She sighed inwardly.

"Nothing interesting ever happens to me." She said. Her vision swam, and pain shot through her head.

"I hate the ocean." She said before passing out.

I realized that that was entirely too short for you wonderful people who reviewed. As for those of you who didn't, well, you think about that next time and maybe I'll call YOU wonderful too. But I think I'm going to include another Toph bit in here. And next will be… SOKKA! YAY!

She heard Katara gasp at the sight she undoubtedly couldn't see.

"Now what's wrong sugar queen?" Toph asked, completely unfazed by Aang and Katara's grim whispers.

"Toph. Um, your home." Aang said, and Toph felt the bison descend. Appa landed at the edge of the town.

"C'mon Appa, yip yip!" Aang urged the giant fluffy monster forward. But it's hard to argue with a ten ton flying bison.

"Looks like this is our stop guys." Aang said sliding off Appa's head. Katara slid off, quickly followed by an une3nthousiastic Toph.

"As much as I want to defend this place, I'm still not fond of being back here." Toph said. Once her feet were on the ground for a moment her eyes got big.

"Not time! Let's go!" She cried, running into the city. Katara ran towards the river, fighting Fire Benders as much as she could. Instantly she was distanced from Toph and Aang. Aang flew over the battle doing as much as he could. He landed it the middle and shot air currents from his staff in several directions. But they just kept coming. Clouds of dust and dirt engulfed him, causing him to start coughing and wheezing. He had let his guard down a moment to long, one of the Fire Benders took the chance, hit him hard in the back of the head, and down he went.

Toph felt them all around her. Pounding footsteps, falling bodies. She brought herself up on a platform of earth, than jumped down onto it bringing the entire thing back into the ground. From the point where her platform vanished into the ground, a sonic wave ran through the earth, throwing enemies as well as allies into the air landing several hundred feet away. But the vibrations were too much. She got lost. She was, for the first time in her life, completely and utterly blind. She didn't stand a chance.


	6. Old Times

Alright, don't get angry at me, I know It's been a while… O.K.! A really long while! But Come off it…How can you get angry at such an adorable Irish boy? Hmm? Right, to much self love, but you got to have love, how else would the world go around? Dumb question, I'll shut my rambling mouth. On with Sokka! By the way, this is about eight years later…It will all be explained. I don't go all weird with my plots, they make sense, I swear.

_Roman Tynann_

Chapter Six.

Sokka looked around the Southern Water tribe, his tribe. So much hung in that balance now.

. It had been eight years since the last time he'd see Katara, Aang, and Toph. He had heard about the battle that they had left him for, and from what he had heard, Toph was gone. He still missed her laughter, even at his expense. He ached for another one of those verbal battles that the two would have. Just the thought that she was dead pained him. After all, she was probably the closest thing to his best friend that he has ever had. Aang and Katara should have come to get him by now, to battle the fire lord. They hadn't come. He was worried. He hadn't heard from any of them in eight years, and the world seemed oddly calm for lack of Avatar presence.

He sighed as he walked, drowned in his own brooding. He didn't even notice the joyous cries around him.

"Sokka! Sokka!" yelled one of the warriors. They had been children when he had returned, now they were teenagers, shaping into strong men. Sokka turned to look at him, and the excitement in his youthful face was almost unnatural.

"What is it, Shoji?" Sokka asked in a low gravely voice.

"The Avatar, he's here!" Sokka's expression suddenly changed. He ran willingly with Shoji leading the way. When he came upon Appa, his misery lifted considerably.

Seated on the saddle were Momo, Aang, and Katara. Toph, unfortunately, was still unaccounted for.

"Sokka!" Katara cried, jumping off of Appa's back to run into her brother's arms. "You look so different." She said, a proud smile on her face. "You're not the Sokka you were. You look older, and more mature. Sokka, I missed you." She hugged him again, and he returned the admiration willingly.

Aang jumped down and Sokka almost lost his footing at the sight of his old friend. Aang had a full head of silvery white hair, and it was impossible to see his arrow.

"Nice hair, Aang." Sokka said, immediately adopting his old personality.

"I could say the same about you, Sokka." Aang retorted, grinning sheepishly. Indeed, Sokka's hair was as different as Aang's. He had a full head of it now, and it was long. His warrior's foxtail still had its place though. Along with that, he had a thin beard that ran the length of his jaw line and met with a thin mustache.

"That's it!" Cried Katara, "You look just like dad…" She trailed off at the thought of her father.

"Well…" Aang broke the sorrowful silence, "You wanted us to come get you when we were going to defeat the Fire Nation, and here we are." Aang suddenly sounded much older.

"First you're going to tell me why the Fire Nation hasn't won yet. What happened to Sozin's comet? Why do we still have a fighting chance?" Sokka questioned.

Inside a large tent, the three sat around a large roaring fire and began to explain.

"Well, we had no idea how to stop the fire Lord when Sozin's comet was set to come. It was just Katara and I, and I didn't have fire bending on my side yet."

"So, we had to come up with something, and fast." Katara continued. "We finally decided that the best thing to do is not to attack the fire Lord to kill, but while the Comet was coming, all we had to do was distract him!"

"So we went in. Katara, Appa, Momo, and I. We did a great job of distracting him, but the Fire Nation isn't going to let that kind of thing happen again. We got considerably lucky." Aang finished. "So, now we've decided that we are going to mobilize an army against the Fire Nation. We don't have a time limit now; we can make ourselves stronger than the Fire Nation. Even the Odds a little." Aang was sounding like the Avatar he was now. All strategy, no foolishness. But Sokka couldn't wait for the foolishness to come back. He missed it.

"So, Sokka? Are you in?" Aang asked. Sokka thought about it for a moment, then responded;

"How can I refuse the call of the Avatar?" He smiled, and Katara hugged him.

"Just like old times, Eh, Sokka?" Asked Aang, packing the last of everyone's things on Appa, and climbing on.

"One thing missing." Sokka replied, his smile fading.

"What's that?" Aang asked, sounding as though he had a little secret he was bursting to tell.

"Toph. She's not coming." He looked away, remembering when he had found out that she had been lost.

"What makes you think she's not?" Asked Aang, and wicked smile on his face as they took off into the sky.

"She's dead. I got the report of the battle."

"I have a strong feeling she's not quite as dead as we think. Just a bit dormant. Yip yip, Appa!"

_All right, new chapter! I'll have a new one for ye all tomorrow, I promise. _


	7. Reunion

Like I promised… 

Chapter Seven

"I hear 'ee's in town lookin' fer a friend o' his. Some earthbender. 'Ee won't give no name, though. Keepin' the boy a secret. Bet the friend's in hidin'. Don't wanna be sucked back into the War again." The old bartender listened intently to what the greasy old drunk was saying. Most of the time, drunks just babbled on about nothing good, but every once and a while you'd get a really good story to gossip about. This was really good. If the Avatar was in town looking for someone, it would make headlines everywhere. People would be coming from god knows where to claim that they were to long lost friend.

A petite, cloaked, hooded figure walked through the doors and sat by the gossiping drunk.

"The usual, miss?" She nodded, lowering her hood.

"Got sumthin' ta hide, girly?" The man next to her sneered.

"No. I'm just hiding from the grease of the city. It looks like you've caught me, though." She snapped back, a quirky smile gracing her face.

"Uptown girl, eh? What's an 'igh class girl like you, doin' in a rundown place like this?" He asked.

"She's one of our regulars." Said the bartender, "This is Chong, and he has some pretty interesting news."

"Is that so?" The woman asked, clear sarcasm and a hint of true curiosity in her voice. Chong noticed that she wouldn't meet anyone's eyes. She was quite suspicious.

"Yep. Chong says he's heard that the Avatar's in town. Says he's looking for and old friend."

"What old friend, I wonder?" The woman queried for more information.

"Dunno. He won't tell no one. Just says it's a friend from years ago, and they is hopin' to find 'im." Chong explained.

"Him?" She questioned further.

"I think it's a man, but I don' know fer sure. Could be a girl, I guess. But I'm no' so sure." The woman grabbed her drink, downed it, dropped a few gold pieces on the counter, and turned to leave.

"Keep the rest." She called back, throwing her hood back on and rushing into the night.

"She's odd, that one." Chong voiced. The bartender nodded as he counted up the gold.

"She pays generously, though." He added, pocketing the gold.

Sokka sat on the roof of an old pub, grumbling complaints under his breath.

"I don't see why I have to sit up here in this old pub, while Aang and Katara get to walk around the high class part of the city. Like she would be here anyway. She's rich, what is the likelihood of Toph being in an old pub in the middle of the night, miles from home?" Just as he finished his complaints, he saw a hooded figure approach to enter the pub. He turned to his spy hole in the roof that he had found about an hour ago. He couldn't hear anything from it, but it gave him a clear view of the bar. The hooded figure sat next to the other man and lowered their hood. He still couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl. The length of its hair was common for boys and girls, the back of the neck. He couldn't get a good angle to see its face. Either it was an accident, of this person knew very well how to keep themselves hidden from spies. He assumed it was the latter of the two. A conversation was struck, but only a brief one. The person set some gold on the counter, and turned to leave. Sokka turned again to face the door and watched the person walk out, hood up again. The person paused outside and just stood there. Sokka watched the person, suspicion rising in him.

"Alright, c'mon out!" She shouted in a female voice. "Twinkle toes! Sugar queen! Ponytail?" It was her, it had to be her. She was the only one who ever called him Ponytail. He leapt down from the roof next to her. Upon his landing, she sent him sprawling to the ground.

"Ow! What was that for?" Sokka protested as he got to his feet.

"Sokka!" She squealed and hugged him, standing on her tiptoes to do so.

"Yeah, I missed you to, hut I imagined that when I saw you again, my head and ears would be safer." He replied. She punched him in the arm and laughed.

"I heard you guys were looking for me." Toph said.

"Yeah, we were."

"So, where's Sugar Queen and Twinkle Toes?"

"Up by your house."

"Wow, are they still that dumb? They actually thought I'd be home? Wow." They walked back, talking about random things, and what had happened over the last eight years. Sokka wished he could really se her again. Right now, she just seemed like a long lost shadow.

Katara and Aang came around a corner to meet them.

"You found her?" Katara asked, in total awe.

"Hey, ya' Sugar queen, Twinkle toes. She smiled brightly and waved, though her smile went unseen.

"Toph! We thought we'd lost you years ago!" Katara was ecstatic as she embraced the petite woman.

"Is there a disturbance over there? What's going on?" A deep voice called.

"Fire Nation troops, run!" Toph said in a whisper. The four took off running, following Aang back to the woods. After they assumed they were safe, they relaxed.

"Yeah, I missed you too, buddy." Toph said, petting Appa. Momo landed on her shoulder and she scratched behind his ear.

"Why was the Fire Nation here?" Sokka asked, expecting the answer.

"Who do you think won that battle eight years ago? The Fire Nation controls our lives, now."

"You must hate it."

"I do." She took off her cloak and laid it across the ground. She pretty much had the same outfit, hut it looked different. She had more shape now. Her hair was shorter and she no longer wore her trademark headband. Of course, her hair still hung in front of her face like it always did, and her eyes were a paler green then they had been.

"So, I guess we're not staying long." Toph said.

"No. We need to leave as soon as possible." Aang replied.

"Can we sleep, first?" Toph and Sokka said in unison. Aang smiled.

"Duh!" He said, and they all laughed. Sokka lay down to sleep, and his last thoughts were: Yep, just like old times. Then he fell asleep.


End file.
